DETROIT (11/8/2019) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team is just a couple of days away from its season opener and the 114th edition of Titan basketball features a 13-man roster, the nation's leading returning scorer and a nice blend of veterans and underclassmen.

"I have seen a lot of good things, but we have a lot of room for improvement and growth," said second-year head coach Mike Davis. "We just have to put it together and some days, we have better success doing that than others. I feel good where we are, but we have to get better."

Leading the team will be Antoine Davis, the sophomore sensation who has already received a boatload of preseason accolades, including the Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year and nominations to the Jerry West, Lute Olson and John Wooden Awards.

He is the nation's leading returning scorer at 26.1 points per game and one of the top 3-point shooters in the country as he broke Stephen Curry's NCAA freshman record hitting 132 triples last season.

"It is great that he has received all the honors so far, but it is about how he handles and deals with it," said coach Davis. "From last year, he needed to improve on sharing the ball with the guys quicker and I think he has done that over the course of practices in the summer and now. Our space and system are a lot better than last year, and he has had some big assist numbers in our practices."

Detroit Mercy has a few other sophomores that are back and looking to take the next step after seeing a lot of action as freshmen in Chris Brandon, Willy Isiani, Marquis Moore and Boe Nguidjol.

Moore and Brandon showed flashes last year of the talent they have combined with their size and athleticism. 

Moore played in 20 games with seven starts and started to come on in the second half of the season, crashing the boards and hitting from the outside. He had a season-best 11 rebounds at Milwaukee and 10 against IUPUI, while scoring a season-high 12 points and grabbed eight boards with two steals at NKU in the Horizon League Championship quarterfinals. 

"The last few games, Marquis was big time, rebounding the ball, hustling all over the court and making shots," said coach Davis. "Last year, he struggled early on making shots, but I think he is going to get a lot of opportunities this year and he needs to step up and make them."

Brandon played in 28 games with 14 starts and pulled down 3.8 rebounds per game - third on the team - while shooting 60.8 percent from the field. He topped the team with 17 blocks, had at least five rebounds in 11 games with his best effort a 15-point, nine-rebound performance at Temple. 

"Chris is more than capable of being one of the better players in this league, but it's going to take that blue-collar effort every single day," said coach Davis. " When that engine is running, he is a pretty good player and he needs to understand that."

Isiani had an injury-plagued freshman season, but appeared in 10 games with five starts and showed that he can hit from behind the arc as 20 of his 25 field goals were from three. Nguidjol played in 20 games and saw limited minutes, but still grabbed 37 total boards.

"Willy is more than capable of making four of five 3-pointers a game and  he has a better understanding of what we want out of him, and Boe has come a long way since he got here and just needs to keep improving and understanding his role," added coach Davis. 

The guard position will be a strength of the Titans as it will feature a pair of graduate transfers in Brad Calipari and B.J. Maxwell, junior returner Jordan Gorman, junior college transfer Dwayne Rose Jr., and freshman Jamail Pink.

Calipari spent the last three seasons playing for Kentucky and was part of some programs that went deep into the NCAA tournament and will now look to make his mark on the court. Rose Jr., played his freshman year at Toledo before playing at a junior college last season and will bring some toughness to the hardwood, while Gorman and Pink will compete for playing time in the rotation. 

"Brad can really make shots and we just need to get him some open looks when he is in the game and Dwayne is a guy that can get to the basket, just like his uncle, he is a great driver, but he needs to just relax and play," said coach Davis. "They both have the skill and talent to contribute a lot to this team."

Maxwell played the last three years with Abilene Christian and averaged 9.2 points and 4.7 rebounds in 2018-19, scoring in double digits in 12 games, and was ranked as one of the top offensive efficiency players in Division I. 

"I think with the talent he has, B.J. is going to be one of the better players in the Horizon League and Jordan is an effort guy, who continues to get better," said Davis. 

The frontcourt should be stronger with the additions senior transfer Justin Miller, junior college transfer Alonde LeGrand and freshman Sam Hofman.

"We have a couple of guys down low that can do a lot of different things for us in Justin, Willy and Sam," said coach Davis. "Justin has had some really big numbers against good teams, he scored 22 at Kansas, and has posted double-doubles and can get rebounds so I like what we see out of him," said coach Davis.

Miller is a big body that can get up and down the court and has plenty of college experience, seeing action in 97 games with 59 starts and averaging 9.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists, shooting 44.9 percent at Louisiana Lafayette. He posted 9.0 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 2018-19, second on the team in rebounding and assists, and scored a career-high 22 points on the road at Kansas.

LeGrand is another athletic forward who can handle the ball and cause mismatches on the court with his skill, while Hofman is a strong European who played with the U-18 Belgium National Team.

"Alonde is a guy who is very versatile, he can handle the basketball and we just need to get him to play with a lot of effort and energy," said coach Davis "I think Sam has a good feel for the game, he can shoot and he is strong. I think with all freshmen, it just takes some time to understand what we want and expect, but he is a guy who consistently gives us great effort every day."

The Titans will have plenty of time to gel as a team with seven straight on the road to open season, including visits to ACC country in Clemson, NC State and Notre Dame and a trip to Las Vegas for two games. 

"I have seen a lot of good things in practice, but we have a lot of room for improvement and growth," said coach Davis. "I am not looking at just having a winning season, I want to build a winning program, on and off the court. I want to build a program and have that pedigree in place."